Operation: SOUTH AFRICA
by Simon Michaels
Summary: An aging sector V is sent to southern Africa to recover a lost treasure. As the KND begins to fall apart around them, the gang teams up with the local Sector S to beat Father to a treasure with the power to make or break the world. But with their decommissioning looming and our heroes growing up, not everything is as it seems. 2x5 3x4 1x362. REWRITE. See A/N for details. Rated T.
1. Moonbase

_(Disclaimer: KND and all its relations are property of Cartoon Network Inc. and Mr. Warburton. The story is property of me.)_

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**now loading….**

**kids next door operation**

**S.O.U.T.H. A.F.R.I.C.A.**

**S**outhern** O**perations** U**tterly** T**ransform **H**oagie and** A**bby.** F**oreign** R**econ** I**s** C**reepily** A**mazing.

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**Chapter 1: Moonbase**

"Numbuhs 1 and 5 of sector V reporting for duty, sir," Nigel Uno said saluting and straightening himself at attention. Beside him stood his second in command, Abigail Lincoln, showing equal respect for their commanding officer. They stood in the Supreme Commander's office, the central nerve of the sprawling Kids Next Door Moonbase.

The Supreme Commander in question, Rachel Mackenzie, codename Numbuh 362, stood behind her desk, the central fixture of the large room. A single computer and phone sat on it, with various piles of paper and files lined neatly from one end to the other. A wall of glass behind her gave a dazzling view of the barren moonscape sided by the inky blackness of space.

The atmosphere was formal, but familiar, and Rachel welcomed the friendly faces of her long time comrades.

"At ease, guys," she said she said warmly, "and welcome to Moonbase."

As the operatives relaxed, she raised a hand gesturing at the two chairs in front of her desk. They sat, and so did she, lifting a file from one of the piles and opening it. She glanced over it's contents for a moment before looking up at them and smiling.

"Thank you both for coming on such short notice," she began, "I know you've just finished with the clean up operation in Indonesia. How did that go by the way?"

"Scrub was successful, sir," Nigel said, then frowned, "Father's forces have fled the region, but I'm not sure if Sector I will recover. The internal damage caused by Numbuh 391; it's, well, extensive."

Rachel sighed and put the folder down. 4th Sector that year.

"With all due respect, sir," Abby said stifling a yawn, "can we move on to why we were called? Numbuh 5 was up most of last night scrubbing ice cream outta her hair."

"Right of course," Rachel nodded, her voice stern, "I'll cut to it. Have either of you heard of the Lost City of the Basuga?"

Nigel looked clueless but Abby's face lit up. "Yeah, Numbuh 5's heard of it. Some city buried under some desert, huge treasure too."

"Indeed. More specifically it's the Kalahari Desert which covers most of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa," Rachel said, "allow me to explain:"

"_As the legend goes, the Basuga were a small tribe of African natives that lived on what is now the South African Eastern Cape, when the Dutch settlers arrived, they tried to take the land away from the native people. Many wars broke out over the land, know today as the Frontier Wars and many tribes fought, but others fled. One of these tribes were the Basuga, they fled up country and into the Kalahari Desert led by their chief at the time, Moshoeshug. They wandered through the desert of months, living barley on the little supplies they had. Just when they had lost all hope, they stumbled across an oasis. The Basuga settled around the oasis, and everything was hunky-dory. Then, Moshoeshug started exploring the untouched areas of his new kingdom. What he found was sugar cane, loads of it. Now the Basuga had been known for their taste for the sweeter things in life, so Moshoeshug couldn't help but try the cane, but as he's about to, he apparently sees a vision of his father warning him of the magical properties of this particular cane, which happened to be the sweetest in the world. He said Moshoeshug may use it, but only for the good of his people. Moshoeshug agreed, and his Kingdom grew into a wealthy city as more and more people heard of the indescribable sweets produced from the cane. But as his wealth grew so did his greed. Moshoeshug soon forgot all about his father's warning and began hoarding all the Kingdom's riches for himself. This angered the ancestors, and to punish Moshoeshug, they ordered the desert to open up, and swallow the city, taking its people and treasures with it."_

"And let me guess," Abby smiled, liking the sound of things more and more, "you want us to find it."

"Usually something like this wouldn't concern the Kids Next Door," Rachel said reaching for another pile on her desk, "but we are not the only ones looking the Lost City." She handed a file to Nigel who, after looking through it, passed it to Abby. It contained various written reports and grainy reconnaissance photographs of an operation in a desert. One of the photo's showed several men standing around an open crate. In the centre stood a figure entirely black, eyes glowing red, a pipe sticking from a featureless face.

"Father," Nigel said simply, his eyes narrowing behind his dark glasses.

"Yes," Rachel continued once again, "the current theory is that Father wants to use Moshoeshug's treasure to take control of all the worlds' candy, I'm not entire sure if that is truly what he's ultimately after, but if it is I don't need to explain as to what that means and why we can't let that happen. You and your team need to get to it before he does."

"Again, with all due respect," Abby said frowning, "Numbuh 5 is the only one on this team who has experience with this kind of thing, I'm not sure sending the entire sector is wise."

"I realize this, but this kind of operation simply cannot rest on a single operative," Rachel said picking up another a third file, "and even with a full team, you are still going to need help."

She handed the file to Nigel.

"Now, we don't have that many African Kids Next Door sectors; only two, Sector E in Egypt and Sector S in South Africa. The political turmoil on most of the continent makes it difficult to establish our influence. The South African Kids Next Door are fairly new, having only been founded 4 years ago. Nonetheless their experience in the Kalahari and local knowledge and expertise will prove invaluable. Your mission is to rendezvous with Sector S and with their assistance gather information on Father's Southern African operations and locate and secure whatever it is he is after. Any questions?"

Both Nigel and Abby shook their heads.

"That about covers it then," Rachel said standing up. Nigel and Abby did the same. "The mission specs will be sent to your Tree House. We expect your departure for South Africa at 06h00 tomorrow."

She turned to Abby.

"Numbuh 5, you are dismissed; I need to have a private word with Numbuh 1."

Abby glanced over at her superior, but he showed no sign of reaction. Not entirely convinced, she saluted and made her way out. Rachel watched as she did. The door shut. A moment of silence passed.

"May I ask what this is about," Nigel asked is a curious tone, his face still not giving anything away. Rachel locked eyes with him, her face stern with an edge of concern.

"Numbuh 1, did you hear about sector Q?" Rachel asked.

Nigel raised an eyebrow. "Yes, there was a report dispatched to all sector leaders a month ago," he said cautiously, "the entire Sector went traitor. The whole team joined the Teenz."

"Correct," Rachel said, sitting back down, "but under further investigation, Global Command discovered that it wasn't the whole sector that was corrupt, it was just two operatives, Numbuhs 56 and 53, which caused the upset. Motivated by Numbuh 53's older sister, they managed to convince the entire team to go rouge. They were all approaching veteran status, 12 years old each, and considered some of the best on the European subcontinent."

Nigel, still standing, shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"It's a sad but well known statistic that in every sector there is at least one corrupt operative," Rachel continued, her gaze still locked on him, "what happened in Sector Q and more recently Sector I is becoming more and more common as the 6th Age rolls on."

Nigel began to look nervous.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but what has this got to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that," Rachel said, noticing his change in confidence, "Nigel, do you trust your team?"

"With my life and childhood," Nigel said without hesitation.

"Very heroic, Numbuh 1," Rachel said rolling her eyes, "but, still, we have been keeping an eye on Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5. Numbuhs 41 and 43 have done an extensive investigation, and the both of them have been up to something; something out of KND regulation."

She looked at Nigel. All confidence had evaporated.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"

"N-no n-n….," Nigel stammered but then forced himself to calm down, "no not at all."

Rachel frowned and leaned forward in her chair, tapping a command into her computer. A disembodied voice sounded:

'**_Office surveillance deactivated'_**

She stood up and rounded the desk to stand in front of Nigel. He was already taller than the average operative, and she looked up at his face her expression softening somewhat.

"Listen, Nigel," Rachel said, "if something is going on, and you know about it, you have to tell me. If proof that any members of your sector are involved in corrupt activities is found, they are liable for immediate decommissioning, and if it is found that you were aware of these activities, you are liable for the same punishment. You still have a long run with KND; don't let something like this wreak it."

"I am well aware of the consequences," Nigel sighed, his body slackening. He looked her in the eye, a small smile playing on the edge of his mouth, "and, if there was anything going on, you'd be the first person I'd tell."

Rachel smiled back and reached out to touch his cheek, but as she did the door swung open and Numbuh 63.5 burst in.

"Sir, I have sector W on line one, it sounds urgent."

Nigel quickly grabbed her hand and shook it, harshly shattering the moment.

"Understood sir," he said professionally, "I will see to it right away."

"Yes," Rachel said taking a step back, looking hurt, "Ok, Herby, put them through."

Numbuh 63.5 saluted and left the room followed by Nigel.

Rachel shook her head sadly as she walked back over to her desk and picked up her phone.

* * *

Inside the bustling hanger of the Moonbase's Command wing, Sector V's S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was being refuelled. As a number of young mechanics and technicians scurried around the green craft, Hoagie Gilligan Jr., codename Numbuh 2, and Abby were inside of it, talking softly. Hoagie was much, _much _thinner after his parents had sent him to the Loosapound Fat Camp, his now log and lanky frame taking up the pilot's seat while Abby leaned against the main control panel.

"It's just as I thought," Abby was saying, n edge of worry in her voice, "They've had Numbuh 41 and 43 on us."

"Shit," Hoagie said rubbing his chin, "I was so sure we'd been more careful."

'Hey, they're good," Abby said with a shrug and then smiled at Hoagie, "We're gonna have to hack into the KND mainframe and erase Numbuh 43's report, think you can do that?"

"Oh please," Hoagie snorted grinning back.

Suddenly Nigel was in the doorway. He looked at them both with a curious stare.

"So what was that all about?" Hoagie asked, cheerfully grinning at the sector leader. At the same time he balled his fists. It was an act, he actually wanted to break Nigel's nose.

Nigel's face brightened.

"Nah, nothing important," Nigel said stepping inside, "Just a few additional details on the upcoming mission."

Abby remained silent, shifting from the cockpit to her own post. Nigel made his way to the chair in the centre of the craft and sat down.

"Right," he said with a long sigh, "Numbuh 2, take us home. I need some sleep."

"Aye aye, captain," Hoagie chimed, flicking several switches and brining the craft to life.

Outside the team working on the craft removed the fuel hose and did a final check before giving Hoagie a thumbs up and clearing the floor. The craft's engines roared to life and it lifted lightly off the docking bay floor. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. rotated and glided to the edge of the bay. After receiving the go-ahead from Moonbase flight control Hoagie gunned the throttle and they shot into space, beginning the slow journey back to earth.

* * *

A/N: I don't know if anyone does recognise this, it may be from before most of your time, but this is indeed a rewrite of a fic of the same name from about 6 years ago. I assure you that I and DarkMike, the original author, are one and the same, so this is totally legal or whatever. I'm working to regain access to my old account and as soon as I do I'll be sure to put something on the user profile that confirms this.

Anyway, the point is that I plan on doing a total rewrite of the fic and this time finish it. I'm not sure how strong the fandom is anymore, but if there is enough interest I want to give my creation new life and save it from my edgy teenage self! This fic get's very dark, brooding and Indiana Jonsey, putting 12-year-olds in situations they oughta not be. But hey, if anime can do it, why can't I? So, if this sounds good and you'd like more leave a review and say so. I may just do it anyway. I dunno, I'm doing a BA, I have too much time.

Hugs and kisses  
Simon


	2. Secret Meetings

A/N: I'd just like to point out that this takes place After GIRLFRIEND, CARAMEL and all of that but before TREATY, basically this is an AU and TREATY to INTERVEIWS does not take place. I originally started this fic in like 2007, before all of that went down. So yeah, onwards!

* * *

**Chapter 2: Secret Meetings**

By the time the SCAMPER lowered itself into the open-top hanger of the Sector V treehouse, midday had arrived. The cool autumn day was warming up and kids across the neighbourhood were taking advantage of the change in weather to play outside. The SCAMPER settled onto the bay floor with a slight thump, and whined as the engines cut and the machine became still. The door on the side of the craft hissed open. Abby exited the craft first; she was taller than most girls by now but still donned her trademark hat and braid. Her shorts remained, albeit a little longer and her baggy blue shirt had replaced by a bigger, baggier blue shirt. She claimed it was for the sake of her style but few knew it was because she had been budding since she was 11. Hoagie followed; also suddenly tall for his age and lanky 'as his father', his blue shirt unbuttoned to reveal a white under shirt. His goggles hung loosely around his neck and his brown aviator cap could be seen sticking out from his back pocket. Nigel was the last to exit; not quite as tall as Hoagie, he had changed the least out of all of them. His bald head, black sunglasses and red turtle-neck all still intact and present. They were greeted by Kuki Sanban, codename Numbuh 3, and Wally Beatles, codename Numbuh 4, the remaining members of the 5-kid sector.

"So," Kuki said cheerfully as they approached, a plush Rainbow Monkey hugged tightly to her chest, "how was Moonbase?"

She too had changed little, the youngest member of the team had kept the same green jersey over the last 2 years, it was simply becoming less and less oversized. Even now the tips of her fingers could be seen sticking out of the sleeves.

"Yeah," Wally grunted in his thick Australian accent, "what were ye' called up there for anyway?"

If there was a growth-spurt coming for Wally, it hadn't happened yet. Just slightly shorter than Kuki with his orange hoodie, blue jeans and blond bowel cut, he looked exactly the same.

"We have a new mission," Nigel said simply, walking past the two towards his quarters, "Numbuh 5 will brief you all, and I expect mission prep by 06h00."

'What?" Wally wined, "but we _just_ got back from Indo-whatever!"

"Indonesia," Nigel corrected him over his shoulder. He stepped into the elevator with a large 1 painted across it and turned to face his team, "06h00 people. Adult tyranny never rests, and that means neither do we."

Hoagie rolled his eyes, something Nigel saw as the doors slid shut.

The afternoon eased by slowly. After briefing (which included a 20 minute argument over why it was called _South _Africa), mission preparations started, everyone went about their duties before departure. Hoagie was typing up the false notes to the parents and running diagnostics on the flight and all their 2x4 equipment, Abby was with him going over some files on sector S and making calls about the Basuga and Nigel, already done with his own research and preparation, was helping Wally and Kuki load supplies into the transport ship. Despite the occasional attempt by Wally to badly whistle the Dragonball Z theme, they worked silently. Nigel was grateful, he a lot of thinking to do, and most of his thoughts were centred around his two oldest friends. What he hadn't told the Supreme Commander earlier was that he did have his suspicions, but was uncertain as to what exactly was going on. Abby and Hoagie had been spending most of their time together over the last couple months, either in the others room or out 'doing stuff'. They had been friends before, but never quite this close. Kuki believed that they were in love, but Nigel was certain there something more complex than that at work, and Global Command seemed to be thinking it too. He then thought Rachel, another person who had been on his mind a lot lately. His thoughts brought him to how he grabbed her hand the way he did when Numbuh 63.5 burst in. He sighed.

"_I'd better go up there and apologize,"_ he thought.

"So what do ye' think is going on with Abby and Hoagie," Wally said as he slammed the ammo compartment shut, breaking the silence and Nigel's thoughts, "is it just me or have they been spending a lot of time together?"

"I don't know," Kuki grinned patting off her hands, "but I'm so sure they're like, y'know, an item."

"Don't be ridicules, Numbuh 3," Nigel said stopping what he was doing to look at her sternly, "those kind of relationships between operatives are forbidden, they both know that."

He couldn't help but feel guilty as the words left his mouth.

Kuki sighed wistfully. "Forbidden love," she said sang, leaning on a crate, "how romantic."

"I highly doubt it," Nigel shook his head dismissively, turning back to his work, "They've just become better friends is all."

"They're both really close to 13," Wally said thoughtfully, then he looked at Nigel with a worried expression, "d'you think they're..."

"Absolutely not," Nigel said simply without looking back up, "you know them better than that to be jumping to those kinda conclusions, Numbuh 4."

Wally, unconvinced, looked over at Kuki who just shrugged. Silence returned.

* * *

Evening came. In Hoagie's room, Abby was seated on the floor packing the last of the young pilot's things into a box. Hoagie was shutting down his computer.

"Your stuff packed?" he asked Abby, spinning this chair to face her as the words 'end transmission' blinked across the screen.

She gave him a look.

"Okay, okay," Hoagie said raising his arms in defence, "I'm sorry, _of course_ it is. Just don't throw that at me, it's sharp."

Abby narrowed her eyes and smiled for a moment, but it slowly faded.

"What?" Hoagie asked standing and moving towards her.

She looked around the room sadly, running her hand along the wooden floor. She then looked up at him, his expression quizzical.

"There's no turning back now is there?" she said flatly, her eyes meeting the floor again.

Hoagie shook his head and squatted to her level.

"I've made the arrangements," he said placing a hand on her shoulder, "everything is set up, why?"

"There are times when this seems like the only thing to do," Abby said slowly, looking at him again, "but at other times it just seems so... so wrong."

Hoagie stood and picked up his his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He offered his hand.

"It is wrong," he said with a sad smile.

She smiled back and took his hand. He pulled her up and they moved the boxes to the entrance of the hanger. They then moved the boxes containing Abby's belongings to her room's balcony.

"Man oh, man is Numbuh 5 gonna miss this pad," Abby sighed as they started to leave.

"I'll pick these up later," Hoagie said, chuckling, "let's bail."

Nigel caught them on their way towards the main elevator.

"Where are you two going?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Home," Abby shrugged as they walked past him. Nigel stopped her with a hand on her chest. Abby blushed slightly. Thank goodness for the baggy top.

"We have a mission first thing tomorrow," Nigel said, not noticing her reaction, "don't you think it'd be smarter to stay here the night?"

"Nah, I got dinner with the folks," Abby said, "You know how lonely they get with Cree outta the house."

"Yeah, and my mom says I gotta grow up and stop sleeping this treehouse every night," Hoagie said nonchalantly, pushing passed him.

Abby turned back and smiled, "No worries boss, we'll be here bright 'n early."

Nigel watched them leave, running his hand over his head in slight frustration. Hoagie and Abby exited from the base of the colossal tree and started making their way down the street.

"Did your mom really say that?" Abby asked, looking out into the distance.

"No," Hoagie said flatly, "I did."

* * *

Nigel watched them from a balcony until they turned down Hoagie's street and were out of site. He walked into the TV room to see Wally sitting on the couch with Kuki fast asleep on his shoulder. He was trying to reach for the remote to change the channel from some kind of Rainbow Monkey special, but Kuki had him pinned. He turned and looked at Nigel as he through, giving him a big thumbs-up. Nigel chucked and shook his head.

"Going to bed," he mouthed.

Wally gave him another thumbs-up and Nigel turned away. A look of realisation dawned on the Aussie and he began silently waving his free arm, but Nigel was gone. Face-plaming, he resumed his efforts to reach the controller. Nigel made his way to his room and once inside locked his door. He had a quick shower and threw some clothes on. He then climbed to the window and jumped. Be began free-falling down the side of the treehouse, and just as the ground rushed up to meet him he clicked his heels twice. Two rockets in the bottom of his shoes roared to life, propelling him away from the ground and around the treehouse. He landed lightly on the hanger entrance. Rushing over to the relocated SCAMPER, he failed to notice the bareness of the workshop and the boxes piled up on the floor. Moments later the craft emerged from the treehouse and rocketed towards the rising full moon.

* * *

A few blocks down Abby and Hoagie arrived at the Gilligan household. Hoagie opened the door and led Abby inside. Mrs. Gilligan emerged from the kitchen. Waving a frying pan.

"Tommy! Get your butt down here and tell me what you did with the... Oh, Hoagie, you're home. Hi Abby," she said blinking, "It's Saturday, I thought you'd be staying at the treehouse tonight?"

"Nope, thought we'd grace you and 'The Tommy' with my presence," Hoagie said grinning and then jabbed his thumb as Abby, "oh and hers."

Abby giggled, punching his arm.

"Yes well don't grace us too much," Mrs. Gilligan said rolling her eyes and smiling, "The Tommy does enough gracing around here. Will Abby be staying for dinner?"

"Yeah," Hoagie said moving towards the dining room, "we've got some things to do after."

Abby turned to close the door and as she did, saw the SCAMPER blast off from the dark silhouette of the treehouse. She closed the door and turned to Hoagie.

"Hey," she said, "who'd you lend the SCAMPER to?"

"No-one," Hoagie said turning around.

"But I just saw it blast off from the tree house," Abby said pointing out a window.

"That's impossible," Hoagie frowned, digging into his pocket, "the keys are… not here."

"Nigel?"

Hoagie shrugged.

After dinner, they made their way upstairs into Hoagie's room. Abby made herself comfortable on the bed, grabbing one of the many Yipper comics scattered around the room, while Hoagie started his computer. He tried to log onto the Kids Next Door main server, but was greeted by a message flashing on the screen:

**ERROR:Code654**

**Operative_under_investigation:IIB**

"Shit," Hoagie cursed.

Abby looked up from the comic. "What?"

"I'm blocked," he said leaning back and raising his arms

Abby frowned, got up off the bed and to Hoagie's great surprise, sat on his lap.

"What're you..." he protested, his face going red.

"Ah calm down," Abby said leaning towards the screen, "Lemme try."

She tapped her details and hit enter. Hoagie felt her slack and she leaned back against him. Hoagie squirmed and went further crimson.

"No luck," she muttered, seemingly unaware of his reaction, "damned investigation. Can you hack the archives?"

"Course," Hoagie said, trying to keep his voice steady, "I wrote half the code that maintains it."

Abby nodded and got up, throwing herself back onto the bed she scooped up the comic book to hide her face and grinned to herself. Hoagie let out a held breath as casually as possible and got to work.

"I'm in!" he cried about half an hour later, pumping a fist.

"Finally," Abby said getting up from the bed and standing beside him, "now let's see this report."

Hoagie accessed the KND file archive and located Numbuh 43's report. He opened it and Abby leaned in as they both read through it silently.

* * *

**File name: 44563654**

**Location: File Archive, Moonbase, Sector 93a**

**Status: ****Urgent**

**27/10/07**

**Over the last 3 months, myself and Numbuh 41 have done an extensive investigation on the activities of Numbuhs 2 and 5 of sector V. Over this time we have witnessed and recorded exactly 16 acts in violation of KND regulation (see file attachment), ranging from meetings with unknown agents to making unauthorized cross-continental trips. My own personal opinion is that the two plan to try something at Numbuh 5's upcoming decommissioning. Feel free to contact Numbuh 41 or myself at any time for further information. At this time, we consider them a code amber tratorism threat.**

**Recommended action:****IMMEDIDIATE DECOMMISSIONING**

* * *

Hoagie and Abby sat in silence, suddenly feeling outplayed and outmatched.

"I thought we were so careful!" Hoagie anguished, covering his face with his hands.

"We were, man," Abby said thoughtfully, "and they only gave us amber, immediate decom for an amber threat? That's a bit much, ain't it?"

"You know how GC is about traitors lately," Hoagie ran his fingers through his messy chestnut hair.

Look at the date," Abby said leaning in again, "this report was posted more than a week ago, why haven't they come for us."

She gazed at the screen for a long moment.

"Check the viewing log."

Hoagie's fingers glided over the keyboard. The log appeared on screen:

**VEIWING LOG FOR FILE #44563654:**

**28/10/07/18:03 – ****VEIW****: Operative 362 (SC)**

**28/10/07/18:42 – ****LOCK****: Authorized personal only**

**SET BY****: Operative 362 (SC)**

"She blocked it, every attempt to access the file thereafter is denied" Hoagie said, dumbfounded, "but why?"

Abby fell back onto the bed and two sat in silence once again, wondering if their plan was going to work out after all.

* * *

384,400 km above them, the SCAMPER docked at Moonbase. Nigel stepped off and slowly made his way through the deserted hallways. It was a shift change at Moonbase and there was about an hour of scheduled maintenance between during which the station was kept relatively clear. The only person Nigel came across was the occasional janitor or someone locking up an office and heading for the shuttle bay. Nigel thanked his luck for good timing. Inside her own office Rachel was behind her desk busy reading over yet another mission report. It was bland, but detailed the recapture of Nightbrace at a chocolate convention in Wisconsin. She was exhausted, the stress of being the chief really weighing heavily on her. She tucked a bang of her shoulder length blonde hair behind her ear. Most Supreme Commanders either retire or crack by the time they hit 12, but Rachel was determined to be the first in a long time to make it to her decommissioning. After reading for a few more moments, she lowered the file and rubbed her eyes, looking at the clock on her desk. 21:26, it was getting late. She looked at the paperwork spread over her desk and grimaced at the thought of how she was spending her Saturday night.

"_Screw it,"_she thought, and started gathering her things to leave.

A loud knock on her office door startled her. She inwardly groaned.

"_What now?"_

"Come in," she said reluctantly.

Nigel's head poked in.

"Thought I'd find you here,' he said grinning, "you work too hard."

He stepped inside. Rachel simply frowned and continued packing her bag.

"Does your sector know you're here?"

"Nope, used the SCAMPER instead of my shuttle," Nigel's grin widened. He shut the door behind him, "No one knows I'm here, so..."

"Are you up here for anything urgent? Because if not, it's late and I'd like to get home," Rachel cut him off, slightly regretting her tone.

"Right," Nigel said, the grin disappearing, "I deserved that."

He began walking towards her, "That's what I'm up here for, I am so…."

"Sorry, yes Nigel, I know," Rachel said standing, "but that's what you said last time, and the time before that and every time you say it….."

She broke off and sighed, " I know it's what has to be done, but it still hurts."

Nigel walked over to her computer and tapped in a command.

'_Office surveillance disabled_.'

"I'm just tired of being some kind of office secret," Rachel said softly, turning away from him, "maybe we should just..."

She was cut off by Nigel's hand on her shoulder. He spun her around and pulled her into an embrace. She gave in, burying her face in his chest; the smell of his turtle-neck comforting and familiar.

"You matter more to me than anything else," Nigel spoke into her hair, stroking it with his right hand, "this mission could get dangerous, even life threatening, and if I do come back, I want to come back to you."

She held him tighter and tilted her face to line with his. They kissed.

384,400 km below, Abby and Hoagie smiled at each other as they watched the security cam feed of the events taking place. They had figured out Nigel's use for the SCAMPER and tuned in just as he arrived at the Supreme Commander's office. Hoagie had hit record and they had settled in for the show.

"'Disabled' is such a relative term," Hoagie smirked, then the kiss came on screen. He threw his hands in the air, "Bingo! Nigie you dog!"

"Got ya, boss," Abby said chuckled, plugging a USB stick into the PC.

Looks like their plans would go as planned after all.

* * *

A/N: It's actually quite a bit of fun to flesh this out. I can't say my writing ability has improved by leaps and bounds, buuuuut I'm sure the story is starting to seem a little more, I dunno, full? Whatever, I probably shoulda rather spent this time studying for my Psychology exam tomorrow, but what the hell, I'm first year undergrad. YOLO. Also, don't get used to this kind of frequent updating. It's the week. I generally have no life during the week.

Hugs and Kisses  
Simon

(PS. The YOLO is intended to be read in the most sarcastic tone possible. I am not a yoloswaggot.)


End file.
